Did you know there is something to eat almost any time of the year on the grounds of Boyce Thompson Arboretum? We strongly discourage grazing the wild or cultivated plants at the Arboretum (in fact, it’s a big No No), but it’s still comforting to know that if marooned on the grounds, a person could survive for two or three days without significant weight loss.

I know this to be true because I have been recording the times that the Arboretum’s plants flower and fruit for more than twenty years. And I have a stack of 50 dog-eared pocket notebooks full of these notes to prove it. Even though every year is unique, two decades of recording have allowed me to make some pretty reliable generalizations about fruiting times.